It took one play for the entire NFL to stand up and take notice of TreVeyon Henderson. His 100-yard kick return on his first NFL touch was all over the first week of preseason coverage. But it didn't stop there. Henderson took his one rush 18 yards and added 3 receptions and 12 more yards in limited action.
In preseason game two, he added another score with only 4 touches in the game. By all accounts this offseason, Henderson is a game-changer for the Patriots. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who has seen some highly skilled and versatile running backs during his time in Foxborough, espoused praise about Henderson early in the preseason.
"We’ve had some really good players with skillsets that are somewhat like his – maybe no one as fast. (Shane) Vereen was probably the fastest – him and Danny Woodhead were fast, but TreVeyon is fast, fast. Excited to be with him."Josh McDaniels
McDaniels has seen players of a similar skill set excel in his offense. James White and Dion Lewis both excelled as receivers and runners out of the backfield, in addition to the aforementioned Vereen and Woodhead. It's great news for Patriots fans that the Patriots were able to find such a dynamic running back to play alongside QB Drake Maye. It's not such great news for the guys in the running back room looking for playing time.
Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson Preparing for Life as Backups
Heading into the last preseason game, Gibson and Stevenson met with the media. Each made a statement to being ok with the idea of splitting carries. It's understandable to want to give the perception that implementing the coach's plans is something you are on board with. In the modern NFL, running backs are viewed as replaceable (if not disposable), so it behooves them to publicly say these things.
Even though 26 is young, it is on the backside of peak running back performance. The running back "cliff" happens at 28, and Gibson and Stevenson are likely mindful of this. "It helps the body" is a good way of saying, "I'm here to make the roster, even though the new guy is showing out." Both running backs appear to understand that a split backfield, if not full backup roles, are in their future.
The split backfield can work well in some instances. The Carolina Panthers executed it to perfection in 2009 with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. Mike Alstott and Warrick Dunn, LaDainian Tomlinson and Michael Turner and Maurice Jones-Drew, and Fred Taylor are just a few other examples. However, finding examples of successful running back trios is rare.
Henderson is going to capture a majority of the snaps sooner rather than later this season. Gibson and Stevenson will be left over to capture specific formations or when Henderson needs a breather. Henderson's emergence seemingly is not going to allow for this workload to be a balanced three-way split. The running backs seem to have heard that message loud and clear.